Christian NHS worker could be sacked for handing out books on risks of abortion

A Christian health worker is facing the sack for giving a colleague a booklet about the potential dangers of abortion.

Margaret Forrester was ‘bullied’ and ‘treated like a criminal’ after
she handed the pro-life leaflet to a family planning worker at an NHS
centre.

Miss Forrester, 39, said she offered the booklet during a private
conversation, because she felt the NHS did not give enough information
about the potential risks.

Treated like a criminal: Margaret Forrester has been accused of 'distributing materials some people might find offensive'

It told of the physical and psychological problems suffered by five
women after terminating pregnancies. But her NHS employers have
launched disciplinary action against her and she fears she could lose
her job.

Miss Forrester, a Roman Catholic, has been accused of ‘distributing materials some people may find offensive’.

It is the latest example of Christians facing disciplinary action for expressing religious views.

Controversy: The booklet

Miss Forrester attended an internal disciplinary hearing yesterday,
but will not be told the outcome until January, meaning she faces
Christmas without knowing whether she will lose her job.

She said: ‘My pro-life views do come from my Christian belief, but a lot of people have a religion. It’s not a criminal offence.

‘A religious opinion is expressed in the booklet, so therefore it’s
not entirely neutral, but I believe women considering abortion should
have a full range of information.’

Miss Forrester has worked for the NHS for six years and is a mental
health worker at the Central North West London Mental Health Trust, in
Camden, North London.

In early November she gave two copies of the booklet called Forsaken
– Women From Taunton Talk About Abortion to a female colleague with
whom she had been discussing the information offered to patients.

It features five women who have experienced what it describes as
‘post-abortion syndrome’, including depression, relationship issues,
suicidal feelings and fertility problems.

Miss Forrester said there was no sign her colleague was offended by
the £4 charity leaflet, or by their conversation. But a few days later
her manager told her she was being sent home on ‘special leave with
full pay’.

She was ordered not to see any patients and to stay away from any NHS site while the trust investigated.

Miss Forrester was then told she had not been suspended and to
return to work but claimed she was not allowed to do her normal job.

Instead she was put on other duties, which she found ‘bullying and
offensive’, adding: ‘I felt physically sickened by their bullying.’

She was eventually signed off on sick leave and has not been back to the health centre since.

After her hearing, Miss Forrester said: ‘There is an authoritarian
management at work here, which is encroaching on very basic freedoms.
It is a kangaroo court.’

Lillian Ladele, the Islington registrar who was harassed and victimised for refusing to carry out gay civil ceremonies

NHS advice says ‘repeated abortions’ can cause damage to the womb, which can result in fertility problems.

Its website says research suggests abortion does not lead to
psychological problems, ‘however, some women can feel sad or guilty
after an abortion, and post-abortion counselling services are widely
available’.

Miss Forrester’s case is backed by the Christian Legal Centre, whose
director Andrea Minichiello Williams said: ‘The level of intolerance in
the public sphere, particularly in public sector employment, is deeply
worrying and suggests we are living in a society that is less and less
free.’

Earlier this year, nurse Shirley Chaplin, 54, lost a tribunal over her right to wear a crucifix at work.

Lillian Ladele, a registrar with Islington Council in North London,
lost a case at the Appeal Court in which she argued she was entitled to
refuse to conduct gay civil partnership ceremonies because they were
against her beliefs. She has since left her job.

A spokesman from the NHS trust said she could not comment on internal disciplinary cases.

Share or comment on this article:

Christian NHS worker could be sacked for handing out books on risks of abortion